Leading Digital Transformation: Six Keys to Success for CIOs

Business decision makers everywhere have realized they must embrace new digital processes, create irresistible digital customer experiences, and explore new digital business models. It’s not a question of if companies are going to embrace digital: it’s only a question of when, how and how fast. Those who move first will thrive. Those who wait too long may never catch up.

However, digital transformation is a long-term commitment and a journey – and it presents multiple complex challenges for CIOs.

Riverbed Technology’s CIO, Rich Hillebrecht, shares six keys to success for CIOs and IT executives driving digitally transformative projects:

1. Be the Change Agent for Digital Transformation
An organisation’s digital transformation journey typically starts with a good business idea. It’s then the responsibility of CIOs and the IT organizations to deliver and execute the capabilities needed to push forward the idea. It’s now widely recognized that digital business models are changing the role of CIOs.

A recent survey of CIOs in India by Gartner cited that 51 percent had expanded their role to include innovation, and another 49 percentt indicated they had been tasked with leading digital transformation across the organization. This reality is amplifying the need for CIOs and their leadership colleagues across the enterprise to collaborate on these initiatives from the start.

2. Align with Internal Stakeholders
The role of IT had historically been constrained to an efficiency objectives model. The digital era demands an evolution of that model. Today’s CIO must be very clear on the business objectives the organization wants to receive through digital transformation (i.e. growth, profitability, innovation), as well as be the force that enables them. Understanding company-wide intricacies and objectives provide CIOs with an opportunity to approach transformation programs in a more effective way.

Being fully on board from the start will not only ease the efforts of implementation, but also allow for any changes to be measured right from the start as you progress towards a shared goal.

3. Launch, Learn and Scale 
There is a “launch and learn” aspect to any digital transformation initiative. It’s important to strike a balance between flexibility within the project and striving to innovate, without taking on too much risk. Trialing efforts and tracking progress towards common objectives is key. This enables the organization to make the most of innovation and drive more cutting-edge digital services benefiting both, employees and customers.

Once a new service is fit to test with a sample audience, it must be able to scale quickly and deploy rapidly. To ensure success, new applications and digital services should be continuously observed and updated as needed based on performance results.

4. Avoid Digital Application Failures
In the digital era, business performance depends on the performance of applications and digital services. People interact with these things on-demand – a business can hardly afford for them to suddenly stop working. However, a major challenge for enterprises remains: limited visibility into the digital experience and limitations in legacy network infrastructure are throttling digital performance, leaving digital initiatives at risk.  

To overcome the risk of failure, organizations must go one step beyond investing in digital technologies and invest in next-generation software-defined networks and performance management solutions, which provide real-time insights, and visibility into each aspect of the end-user experience — to measure what’s working and what’s not, and course correct as quickly as possible.

Having a baseline for what “good” is - and the ability to track performance of digital initiatives and provide proof of ROI - empowers the CIO and IT organization to showcase time and money saved, as well as heading digital catastrophes off at the pass.

5. Acknowledge the Challenges of Change
As digital transformation has moved to the top of the corporate agenda, new roles like Chief Digital Officer (CDO) are beginning to emerge. Instead of a threat, CIOs must see this opportunity to play a larger role in conversations around the direction and the role technology plays within the business.

Where it’s a challenge for the CIO and IT organization, is if they’re seen as too slow or reluctant to support digital transformation. Case in point: according to a recent survey by PwC of Indian CEOs, 60% cited concerns about the digital skills of their senior leadership.

6. Position Your Role for Continued Success
Digital transformation is not a one-time journey. It is not a finite project with a beginning and an end. It is all about continuously pushing the boundaries of business and resetting the competitive bar for customer experiences, ingenious processes and game-changing efficiencies.

It is one of the CIOs greatest opportunities to help the business advance, to provide insights, expertise and guidance on elements that can future-proof the company and secure revenues. Keeping everyone aligned and cooperating is key, along with continuing the dialogue between roles, establishing expertise, and always showing a commitment to help all parts of the business move forward.

-- Rich Hillebrecht, CIO, Riverbed Technology.